Jᴀᴄᴜʀᴜᴛᴜ - Tʜᴇ Cᴀsᴛ Oᴜᴛ

Ampoliros wrote:Aww, did no one get my DC-8 joke or was it just not funny?

That's weird ... I missed that one, too.

Sorry!

lotek wrote:THE ORIGIN OF AND PLANNED SEARCH FOR THE MOUNT ARARAT "ANOMALY" IN TURKEY

My gawd, I recognize that shape!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/24/42598 ... 130f4d.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Xenu, also Xemu (pronounced /ˈziːnuː/[1][2][3]) was, according to the founder of Scientology and science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" who, 75 million years ago, brought billions[4][5] of his people to Earth in a DC-8-like spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and killed them using hydrogen bombs. Official Scientology dogma holds that the essences of these many people remained, and that they form around people in modern times, causing them spiritual harm.[1][6] Members of the Church of Scientology widely deny or try to hide the Xenu story.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu


Sigh, my genius is unappreciated in my time. That or I'm a certifiable nut

If there are two things in this world of which I am certain, it's that people were flying DC-8's 75 million years ago, and two of each species could fit in that log cabin they found on Mt. Ararat.

Ampoliros wrote:Official Scientology dogma holds that the essences of these many people remained, and that they form around people in modern times, causing them spiritual harm.

"Women sense my power, and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake. But I do deny them my essence."
- General Jack D. Ripper

Noah's Ark amusement park sparks controversy for Kentucky

by Claudia Coffey
WHAS11.com
Posted on December 7, 2010 at 6:46 PM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) – Construction has yet to begin on the northern Kentucky faith-based amusement park and already the initiative has thrust Kentucky into the national spotlight. The project is called “Ark Encounter” and the governor's decision to give the group developing the park millions of dollars in tax breaks is taking a lot of criticism; specifically whether Governor Steve Beshear can legally offer tax incentives to the faith-based park. I caught up with Governor Beshear Tuesday and he says the decision is legally sound.
"We did a thorough analysis of the law, obviously, before we encouraged the application to be put in, and there's nothing remotely unconstitutional about this because these kinds of incentives are open to any type of theme park that wants to come and apply, " says Governor Steve Beshear.
The incentives would essentially be a refund of sales taxes collected on the tickets to the park and other items sold there. The Beshear adminstration and the group developing the park says it legally qualifies under the Kentucky Tourism Develoment Act.
"There's nothing that should discriminate against us, so it is a profit venture with a nonprofit component involving our ministry here that will be designing and operating the park when it opens," says Mark Looy with the Creation Museum.
The Ark Encounter development is a for-profit project, which qualifies for the tax incentives. The full scale Noah's Ark itself will be built at a cost of $24.5 million by the nonprofit 'Answers for Genesis' which operates the Creation Museum. In all, the construction project will employ 900 people and is expected to attract 1.6 million visitors in its first year.
"Here we are on private property, privately funded. You would think in America you would be able to build something without opposition. We thought this opposition would rear its head with the Ark Encounter because it does deal with a theme from the Bible's Old Testament," says Looy.
Governor Steve Beshear says despite the criticism and controversey, his decision comes down to jobs. "I'm not arguing with them over religion or religion issues. My whole point here is that people in this state didn't elect me to argue issues about religion. They elected me to create jobs for our people and that's what we are doing," says Gov Beshear.
The groundbreaking on the new amusement park will begin next year and be completed in 2014.

Hmm. Interesting case.

If it's true that any for-profit venture could qualify for the sales tax refunds, then I don't see a problem here. Claiming that this is government-funded religion is a stretch, I think.

I mean, the basis for the Ark theme is clearly religious, but you could then argue that tax breaks for businesses that are based on new age beliefs, or acupuncture, or herbal remedies would also be government funded religion (as they are also "faith-based"), and I don't think they should be disqualified from getting tax breaks just because they deal with non-scientific ideas.

Now, if the theme park later turned around and tried to claim tax-exempt status as a church, *that* might be a problem.

HBJ

Acupuncture maybe is faith based, I haven't looked at the research myself, but a lot of herbal stuff is just as valid as anything else, especially stuff from Asia/India. While Europe was still bleeding people and pretty much flying blind with healing (largely due to the Christian massacre of almost all herb-lore experts, mainly women, as heretics and witches), Asia was developing fairly advanced medicine and techniques like chiropracty. Look at ginseng and such.

I grew up on an elk farm, which deals with Asian (Koreans mostly) medicine. Every spring the elk drop off their hardened antlers and sprout new ones that are full of blood, softer, and covered in velvety skin. We'd wait for them to be just the right size/shape (the Koreans long ago figured out at which point the antler is most potent) and then slice them off (no significant pain or harm to the elk, they just hate being handled as they're still wild animals basically), then they get freeze dried, kilned, and ground into elk velvet powder - which is some amazing shit. It's a strong natural steroid with little to no negative side effects, works what is seriously close to miracles on arthritis, and can also be used to treat erectile disfunction (it increases testosterone). It shouldn't be taken straight, should be sold mixed with ginseng and other herbs.

I bring this up because when we started out it was still regarded as a BS medicine, but later on medical research proved every single claim the Asians had made about the stuff.


Holy smokes that was off topic of me!

seems like they gave tax-breaks to Disney Corp for all that shit in Florida ....
Mickey ain't real neither ... and a bottomless pedophile duck in a sailor suit ?

fuck man, you got me on that one .....

I had to lotek it - and EVERY search engine I used, including Yandex, had only ONE (1) result ....
http://www.snoogans.co.uk/stuff/nboard/nboard.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


so .... WTF ?

SandRider wrote:I had to lotek it

how 'bout that ?




Not quite the quote though...

I was thinking of Enemy Mine but I don't think that was the exact quote.

Freakzilla wrote:I was thinking of Enemy Mine but I don't think that was the exact quote.

Earthman, your Mickey Mouse is one big stupid dope

damnit !!

Enemy Mine was a good movie though(from what I remember)

Close enough. I thought it was great.

A Thing of Eternity wrote:Acupuncture maybe is faith based, I haven't looked at the research myself, but a lot of herbal stuff is just as valid as anything else, especially stuff from Asia/India.

I was probably hasty to lump it in with the other things in that list. I will say, though, that if you ask a Chinese herbologist why you should take a particular herb to treat a particular condition, there's a good chance his explanation will not be "because it's got chemical/compound X in it", but rather it will be some explanation of spirit, or chi, or energy, or some other mystical nonsense. To me, regardless of the efficacy of the treatment itself, it's not a scientific area of medicine.

There are also practitioners of herbal medicine quite willing to sell you herbs which which they claim will, when infused, treat late-stage cancer. So perhaps my prejudice against it has something to do with that.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack wrote:

A Thing of Eternity wrote:Acupuncture maybe is faith based, I haven't looked at the research myself, but a lot of herbal stuff is just as valid as anything else, especially stuff from Asia/India.

I was probably hasty to lump it in with the other things in that list. I will say, though, that if you ask a Chinese herbologist why you should take a particular herb to treat a particular condition, there's a good chance his explanation will not be "because it's got chemical/compound X in it", but rather it will be some explanation of spirit, or chi, or energy, or some other mystical nonsense. To me, regardless of the efficacy of the treatment itself, it's not a scientific area of medicine.

There are also practitioners of herbal medicine quite willing to sell you herbs which which they claim will, when infused, treat late-stage cancer. So perhaps my prejudice against it has something to do with that.

HBJ

There are charlatans out there for sure, to adress the last paragraph. As to the first, I dissagree, it is scientific, just not to the level we're used to with modern medicine. Yes, they'll atribute it to chi, or yin and yang, but that's just an attempt to explain "why", the methods used to determin whether or not they worked probably involved hundreds of years of trial and error - experimentation is the basis of the scientific method.

Now, also, science is catching up with those herbs/treatments, and we're finding out it's no placebo effect with many of them, the science is there, but these are methods from times when deeper science was impossible. They don't keep using them out of "faith" or because they believe the magic explanation, they keep using them because they work - if they stopped working they''d stop using them (huge generalization I know), and that's science, just very simple science.

It can be both rubbish AND science.

Yes, I see your point. Okay, I was too hasty in adding it to the list.

HBJ

Hunchback Jack wrote:Yes, I see your point. Okay, I was too hasty in adding it to the list.

HBJ

To be fair I see your point too, it's extremely saddening when someone explains science with magic... it's the exact opposit of how these things are supposed to work!

Donna D'Errico to Climb Mount Ararat in Search of Noah's Ark

http://www.comcast.net/entertainment/po ... fnoahsark/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In case you forgot who she was:



Former "Baywatch" star Donna D'Errico has enjoyed a pretty amazing career arc.

But the 42-year-old actress, who recently turned down a spot on "Dancing With the Stars," is now focusing on Noah's ark.

D'Errico, 42, is in training to fulfill a lifelong dream of climbing Mount Ararat in Turkey to search for the frozen remains of Noah's ark.

According to Biblical legend, the ark was built centuries ago to protect Noah's family and two of every kind of animal during a flood lasting 40 days and 40 nights.

After the great flood, the ark supposedly landed atop the mountain. Many believers have been looking for the remains ever since.

D'Errico is the next explorer who hopes to make what would be one of the greatest discoveries in human history."This has been a dream of mine since I was 9 or 10," D'Errico told AOL News. "I went to Catholic school and was fascinated by Noah's ark. I would do class projects based on the ark."

D'Errico's fascination with the biblical tale wasn't just a childhood passion. As she grew older, she continued to study and research the ark, especially stories suggesting that it was close to being found.

"I'd read different stories about how people thought they found the cages and I was completely intrigued," she said. "I decided that someday I'd go to Turkey, climb Mount Ararat and search for Noah's ark."

According to legend, the ark is located on Mount Ararat, a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in the easternmost part of Turkey that has two peaks: Greater Ararat, with an elevation of 16,854 feet, and Lesser Ararat, which is 12,782 feet above sea level.

Over the centuries, there have been many claims that the ark is still there in three big frozen chunks.

However, despite numerous sightings and expeditions, no solid proof of the ark has ever been found.

D'Errico would like to be the person who changes things and makes one of the biggest historical finds in human history

"I've been studying this for years and know where the sightings have been," she said. "According to my research, the ark lays broken into at least two, but most likely three, pieces. I believe that one of those pieces is in the uppermost Ahora Gorge area, an extremely dangerous area to climb and explore."

But research alone isn't enough. D'Errico is training to get her stamina up enough to handle a climb nearly three miles high.

"It's not a technical climb," she said. "Many inexperienced climbers have done it, but you do need stamina and, obviously, a crew."

She is targeting August as the month she starts her ascent, and her trip is being sponsored by Bukla, a tour guide company in Turkey that's offering to provide transportation from Istanbul to Ararat and back, all equipment, mules, guide services and permits.

Now that her plans are set, D'Errico is swimming and running to build up her endurance.

What about running in slow-motion, a la "Baywatch"?

"Not doing that," she said with a laugh. "But I'll probably be climbing in slow motion when I start."

The decision to finally make the climb came after an intense few months.

First, she was traumatized after Transportation Security Administration officials singled her out for a body scan while she was on a plane flight to visit a sick relative. Then, she became infected with MRSA -- methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- and spent a few weeks in the hospital recovering.

"The doctors told me afterwards that I was very close to death when I came in," she said.

It was there that she decided to make a personal covenant to search for the lost ark.

"I have spent a lot of my life living for a lot of other people, whether it be because of my job or my family," she said. "My kids are almost grown up and I have fulfilled one dream of coming to Hollywood to become an actress. Now it's time to fulfill another."

D'Errico says her kids are supportive, but worried.

"My oldest son is excited, but his father has passed away, so I'm his only parent," she said. "He knows the climb can be dangerous -- especially when you're standing on a glacier."

Although there have been rumors that D'Errico turned down "Dancing With the Stars" to work on the climb, she says the two are not connected.

"I am working on a cooking show, which is also a longtime dream," she said.

D'Errico is making all the necessary plans but is aware that some things are left up to fate -- and the Turkish government.

"I don't think you need any official permission, but I've heard officials can be finicky and decide at the last minute whether to let you go," she said.

Still, if signing a few autographs or pictures helps grease any bureaucratic wheels, she's open to it.

But whatever happens will not be coming to a TV screen near you anytime soon.

"I am not doing a reality show," she insisted. "I will document this for myself and my family."

If D'Errico is the person who finally locates the ark, it will probably be more remembered than even her marriage to Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx or her photo spread in the September 1995 issue of "Playboy."

Some would argue that such a discovery might put the ark in jeopardy from poachers, but D'Errico believes the public has a right to know.

"It's a biblical relic, so if I find it, I'll photograph it extensively," she said. "Because it's so difficult to get to it and it's frozen, I don't see what people could do to it."

Although this expedition will require D'Errico to possibly go through another TSA scan at the airport, that's a risk she's willing to take.

"I will be traveling with photography and video equipment and intend to have someone videotaping as I go through security at the airport this time," she said. "I also will be carrying a copy of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution with me, as well as a printout of TSA regulations in case they attempt to prevent the videotaping of me going through security. I'll be better prepared this time."

I'd single her out for a pat down, too.

Freakzilla wrote:Two by two: A real-life Noah’s Ark

Cool. Should be big enough to house about 1 out of every 100,000 species we have on this fine planet too.

What about the bugs? There's 900,000 species.

Remember that jar we all used in grade school to catch them?

we can just use a really big jar.